1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnetic recording disk storage systems employing a preamplifier circuit for magnetoresistive (MR) elements. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved preamplifier circuit for MR elements which has a high impedance so that the resultant system would not be sensitive to the series input inductance of the leads necessary to connect the MR element with the preamplifier.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical magnetic disk storage system includes at least one rotatable magnetic disk which is supported on a spindle and rotated by a disk drive motor. The magnetic recording media on each disk is in the form of an annular pattern of concentric data tracks on the disk.
At least one slider is positioned on the disk, each slider supporting one or more magnetoresistive elements for reading data from and writing data to the disks. As the disks rotate, the slider is moved radially in and out over the disk surface so that heads may access different portions of the disk where desired data is recorded. Each slider is attached to a positioner arm by a suspension. The suspension provides a slight spring force which biases the slider against the disk surface. Each positioner arm is attached to an actuator assembly. The actuator assembly often includes voice coil motor (VCM). The VCM comprises a coil movable within a fixed magnetic field, the direction and speed of the coil movements being controlled by the current signals supplied by the actuator controller.
During operation of the disk drive system, the rotation of the disk generates an air bearing between the slider and the disk surface which exerts an upward force or lift on the slider. The air bearing thus counter-balances the slight spring force of the suspension and supports the slider off and slightly above the disk surface by a small, substantially constant spacing during normal operation.
The various components of the disk drive system are controlled in operation by control signals generated by a control unit. Control signals include, for example, control signals and internal clock signals. Typically, the control unit comprises logic control circuits, storage means and a microprocessor. The control unit generates control signals to control various system operations such as drive motor control signals and head position and seek control signals. The control signals provide the desired current profiles to optimally move and position the slider to the desired data track on the disk. Read and write signals are communicated to and from the read/write heads by means of a recording channel.
A need presented itself for a single ended (SE) preamplifier circuit for magnetoresistive (MR) elements which has a high input impedance with respect to the MR resistance so the resultant system would not be sensitive to the series input inductance of the leads necessary to connect the MR element with the preamplifier having low power dissipation. With former preamplifiers, all were low input impedance types, for example using BiCMOS or BiPolar technology, or differential, using BiPolar technology. The need became apparent to use a BiCMOS technology with a high input impedance, SE amplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,278 (issued to Contreras et al.) was presented to solve the need for such a preamplifier which could work with very low supply voltages, for example, 3 volts. However, the circuit disclosed used a current bias for the MR element, and contained other limitations on noise performance, and offset performance. Other circuits found in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,453 which teaches a base-grounded amplifier with a single ended MR device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,579 which teaches a preamplifier that uses a current-mode amplifier; U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,386 which teaches a single ended MR element with a fast settling read amplifier; U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,915 teaches a low noise preamplifier for a single ended MR element; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,5443,979 teaches a preamplifier for common current flow in a transducer.
It is readily apparent that none of these references address the need for a high input impedance, single ended, low supply voltage MR pre-amplifier with dR/R response. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need for a preamplifier circuit which requires low noise, low power supply operation, and dR/R response.